Canes a Win Away From the Dance

The up and down victory versus Virginia yesterday meant a lot of things for the Miami Hurricanes basketball team. It meant the first 20-win season of the Frank Haith era, so congratulations to him for that. It also meant the team bounced back nicely after a demoralizing defeat at Clemson, where the Canes rallied from 20 points down only to let the game slip away at the end. But most importantly, it meant Miami was that much closer to March Madness.

The 95-93 result came a little closer than I would have liked, with the Canes having enjoyed a 10 point lead with just over 100 seconds to go before a barrage of points by the Cavaliers. Luckily, some clutch shooting late in the game kept the Canes' NCAA Tournament hopes alive.

Besides the final outcome, the biggest story of the day had to be Jack McClinton's career high 34 points. The most impressive part of his performance was that 22 of them came in a 5 minute tear in the 2nd half where he accounted for all but 4 of his team's points. A personal 14-0 streak was part of that explosion.

I have to tell you, when Jack is on fire, he is deadly. I have criticized him in the past for poor shot selection, and when he isn't on his game, that criticism remains a valid one. Sometimes he takes bad shots early in the shot clock rather than being patient and finding a better play. However, his confidence is inspiring and his ability to lead the team when it counts usually overshadows any faults in his game. Some team will be lucky to draft him when he is done here. Heck, the Heat could use a nice outside shooter like himself.

I also have to commend Jimmy Graham's contribution of 19 points. Graham is a ball of energy out there and is one of my favorite players to watch on this team along with McClinton and Collins. Finally, congratulations to Eddie Rios for another solid performance with 8 points and 8 assists. He had struggled for most of this season, leading many to believe he was a bust. However, the past few games he has picked it up and possibly turned the corner into becoming the point guard this team really needs.

All Miami has to do now is win a game either against Boston College or FSU. Both teams are beatable, but both teams also handed us defeats earlier in ACC play. Two wins ensures an NCAA bid and possibly a bye in the ACC tourney. One win probably means we still get in the NCAA tournament, but wouldn't be a lock. Lose both and we'd need to go 3 rounds deep into the tough ACC tourney to have any shot at the Big Dance.